How to Become Like Christ II: Guest Blog by James Burdette

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


How do I become like Christ? This question asked from a sincere heart is the most dangerous question a believer can ask. It is dangerous because the answer threatens all that we love other than God. One can study the gospels in the New Testament and try to piece together a picture of who Christ was and what he did and then do our best to mimic those actions. But my guess is that one would end up frustrated and unsuccessful. That is because becoming like Christ isn't primarily concerned with doing what he did, although someone who has become like Christ may do many of the things he did, I believe that becoming like Christ is primarily about loving who He loved.

When asked what the first commandement was by a scribe (a community religious leader) Christ replied, "'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one; you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mark 12:29-31).

I believe that to become like Christ you must first love God with all of your emotions, thoughts, and ability. To love God like this is the greatest thing anyone of us can do with our very brief lives. Can you imagine a life spent loving God with every action, thought, word and motive? That is what Christ did. His ministry on this earth and his execution outside of Jerusalem were fueled by a deep love for his Father and his people.

Which brings us to the next observation; when we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will naturally love others as we should. When we love God, we learn more about him and as a result love the people and the things which he loves. To become like Christ we must love God. How can we love God? Seek him in his word and in prayer. Hebrews 11:6 assures us that when we earnestly seek God he rewards us. Let's step forward towards becoming like Christ together and love God with all of our ability!

How to Become Like Christ: Guest Blog by Wes Van Fleet

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


When Jesus came among us, He had one purpose: to fulfill His mission of becoming the perfect sacrifice on the cross by taking our place as sinners. We, in fact, could not accomplish this ourselves. God’s wrath on Jesus was a full payment for our sin. It was a holy wrath that pleased God- because it paid for you!! Christ’s payment on the cross for our sins was sufficient.

So what does this mean for us? Well, it means that when we trust in Christ alone for the payment of our sin and receive eternal life, we should be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This should be our “I.D.”. But the bigger question is how? How do we become or "conform" to the image of Christ?

When explaining to His disciples what true followers of Christ should look like, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Jesus expected His disciples of yesterday to give up their lives to Him. And in the same way, He expects His disciples of today to do the same. We are not supposed to fit Jesus into our life only when comfortable or profitable. We are to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). We are to take up our cross at school, at work, and to the local Starbucks. No matter how uncomfortable the situation, we are to carry our cross. Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all you are, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-40). If we love Jesus with all we are, it will be natural to love those around us. If we love those around us, it will be natural to share the gospel with them and explain to them the free gift of life that was so graciously given to us. When doing these things, you shall become more like Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come".

Meditate on this verse this week. And watch how you will become more like Christ.

Climbing the Mountain: Guest Blog by Denisse Cherry

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


Since the beginning of time, God's desire was to have a family. In fact, he expressed it when he created Adam and Eve. The book of Genesis also declares that "it was not good for man to be alone" (2:18). These opening passages should remind us that we were created to be communing with God and other people. But many of us have chosen NOT to be a part of God’s family for several different reasons; personality, past experiences, fear and so on.


Imagine this... You are getting ready to climb the highest mountain on Earth. You do not have a map, a plan or a partner. You know you must climb it, but you have no idea where to begin. And so you start your journey. On you way up, you fall, break your bones, cut yourself and even slip back all the way to square one. You are proud and you will not give up so you try again, not realizing that on top of having to climb the mountain you may have to deal with the weather. So now you are either freezing or overheating...

After so many tries and failed attempts you begin to get discouraged and your spirit begins to break. Though your spirit might be broken you still get up again and give it another shot. When you finally get to the top, you realize that you are there alone, with permanent damage caused to your body and your spirit. Many of us have been there…including me.

Ask yourself this, "Did I have to endure all that pain alone? And how much less pain would I have gone through if I had someone pulling me along, encouraging me, praying for me, and sometimes even preparing me for my journey? God gives us the experiences in our lives to be able to help each other along the way (Galatians 6:2). God uses every experience for his glory. I can personally account for that. Did you know that one of the worst forms of punishment for a criminal is solitary confinement? Why do you think that is? BEACAUSE WE ARE NOT MEANT TO BE ALONE!

Being a part of God’s family is one of God’s purposes for your life. That was his plan for you before you were born. The entire bible is a story of God building a family who will love him, honor him and reign with him forever. So, how do we accomplish that? The invitation to be a part of God’s family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus. Jesus helps us learn how to help each other, love each other, and be there for each other (John 13:34, Rom 12:10, Eph 4:2). We are born again into God’s family through faith. Once we become part of God’s family we are blessed to inherit everything that our Father has to offer.

I know what is like to internalize everything. I know what it is like to be proud and put up a front as if everything is okay. But I, like many other people, have gone through a lot of pain and unnecessary heartache. Don’t get me wrong, I have learned a lot about myself through those experiences and God has taught me a lot about the kind of person he wants me to be. But now that I have decided to be a part of God’s family, that mountain looks like a small hill. So if you are facing a mountain or a small hill, know that there are people out there that want to climb with you, help you along and pray with you. God strategically placed people in you life to help you grow, to help you conquer and reach the top so that TOGETHER we can bring him glory.

A Race Worth Running: Guest Blog by Jules Sneddon

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


What is the purpose of mankind's existence? To put it simply, we were created to bring God pleasure (Revelation 4:11b KJV). And is it possible to please God without faith? (Hebrews 11:6a NIV). No, it is not possible. In fact, faith and understanding are fundamental to fulfilling our true purpose in life. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that, "...faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". The writer adds on that, "Because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6b NIV). So in other words, God not only wants us to believe in Him in the same way a demon would (James 2:19 NIV), but he wants us to believe in His Word, love, and countless promises.


When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even when we don’t see those promises materializing, we demonstrate true faith (John 20:29 NIV). This is what the ancients were honored for-– those few listed as heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. Much like a runner, those heroes had crossed the finish line at the end of a very long race. And yet those heroes who lived by faith never received everything that they had hoped for on Earth; they only saw it and accepted it from a distance (Hebrews 11:13 NIV).

But why? Because God had planned something better for [them] so that only together with [them] would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:40 NIV). Just as we need them, for they are our roots, so they need us, for we are their fruit. It is one tree, one story, one awesome chronicle of salvation and we get to be a part of it! God has included a plaque for our names in His hall of faith “so that only together with [them]” would all those listed in Hebrews 11 find their hope complete. Through our faith in Christ, we are intimately connected with them. Their faith and our faith make us co-believers.

Picture a sports arena with a great race track. A marathon race is in progress. The heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11 have already run their race and they are now seated in the stands cheering you on as you begin to run the lap set out for you (Hebrews 12:1 NIV). We are finishing the race they began thousands of years ago. The baton that has been passed to you is the same baton they ran with. It is not just you crossing the finishing line. They are “with you” as you run. It is together that we win the race!

Jesus is there too, but He is running right beside you. He is there to encourage you and to help you to run the race set before you. He tells you to fix your eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2a NIV), for He is the one who built this great race track. He has already run this race and won. He has already received His victor’s crown. He is right beside you every step of the way. He is encouraging you to keep your eyes on Him because if you will have faith in Him, he will show you the way to victory!